Ogmore Castle
Encyclopedia
Ogmore Castle is located near the village of Ogmore-by-Sea
Ogmore-by-Sea
Ogmore-by-Sea is a seaside village in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales. It lies on the western limit of the Glamorgan Heritage Coastline of south Wales....

, south of the town of Bridgend
Bridgend
Bridgend is a town in the Bridgend County Borough in Wales, west of the capital, Cardiff. The river crossed by the original bridge, which gave the town its name, is the River Ogmore but the River Ewenny also passes to the south of the town...

 in Glamorgan
Glamorgan
Glamorgan or Glamorganshire is one of the thirteen historic counties and a former administrative county of Wales. It was originally an early medieval kingdom of varying boundaries known as Glywysing until taken over by the Normans as a lordship. Glamorgan is latterly represented by the three...

, South Wales
South Wales
South Wales is an area of Wales bordered by England and the Bristol Channel to the east and south, and Mid Wales and West Wales to the north and west. The most densely populated region in the south-west of the United Kingdom, it is home to around 2.1 million people and includes the capital city of...

. It is situated on the south bank of the River Ewenny and the east bank of the River Ogmore
River Ogmore
The River Ogmore is a river in South Wales popular with anglers. It runs generally from north to south from the Ogmore Vale and Pentre, past Bridgend and Ogmore...

. Cowbridge
Cowbridge
Cowbridge is a market town in the Vale of Glamorgan in Wales, approximately west of Cardiff. Cowbridge is twinned with Clisson in the Loire-Atlantique department in northwestern France.-Roman times:...

 is nearby. Its construction might have begun in 1106. Ogmore was one of three castle
Castle
A castle is a type of fortified structure built in Europe and the Middle East during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars debate the scope of the word castle, but usually consider it to be the private fortified residence of a lord or noble...

s built in the area in the early 12th century, the others being Coity Castle
Coity Castle
Coity Castle in Glamorgan, Wales is a Norman castle built by Sir Payn "the Demon" de Turberville , one of the legendary Twelve Knights of Glamorgan supposed to have conquered Glamorgan under the leadership of Robert FitzHamon, Lord of Gloucester. Now in ruins, it stands in the Community of Coity...

 and Newcastle, Bridgend
Newcastle, Bridgend
Newcastle Castle, on Newcastle Hill, overlooking the town centre of Bridgend in Glamorgan, South Wales, was initially constructed in 1106 by William de Londres, one of the legendary Twelve Knights of Glamorgan, as part of the Norman invasion of Wales....

. It was in use until the 19th century for a range of purposes, including a court of justice and a prison, but is now a substantial set of remains and a local landmark. It is managed by local authorities.

Etymology

When John Leland wrote his Itinerary, he referred to this fortress as "Ogor Castelle".

History

Construction of Ogmore Castle might have started around 1106, its foundation predating the Norman conquest
Norman conquest of England
The Norman conquest of England began on 28 September 1066 with the invasion of England by William, Duke of Normandy. William became known as William the Conqueror after his victory at the Battle of Hastings on 14 October 1066, defeating King Harold II of England...

. In Caradoc of Llancarfan
Caradoc of Llancarfan
Caradoc of Llancarfan was a Welsh cleric and author who was associated with Llancarfan in Wales during the 12th century. He is generally accepted to be the author of a Life of Gildas and of a Life of Saint Cadog in Latin....

's The historie of Cambria, now called Wales: a part of the most famous yland of Brytaine, Caradoc wrote that the manor and castle were given to William de Londres, one of the legendary Twelve Knights of Glamorgan
Twelve Knights of Glamorgan
Twelve Knights of Glamorgan were the legendary followers of Robert FitzHamon, the Norman conqueror of Glamorgan. They are figures in early Welsh history....

, by Robert Fitzhamon
Robert Fitzhamon
Robert Fitzhamon , or Robert FitzHamon, Sieur de Creully in the Calvados region and Torigny in the Manche region of Normandy, was Lord of Gloucester and the Norman conqueror of Glamorgan, southern Wales...

, the Norman conqueror of Glamorgan. In 1116, William de Londres was forced to abandon the castle when the Welsh appeared in force. His butler, Arnold, is credited with protecting the castle from the Welsh attack during the absence of William de Londres, and for this, he was knighted Sir Arnold Butler, also receiving the castle and manor of Dunraven as reward.

According to the custom of the times, the founding of a religious institution followed the acquisition of power. William de Londres, or his descendant John, built Ewenny Abbey 1 miles from the castle. Also nearby was a religious place appended to Ogmore Castle by Morris de Londres or his descendant John, in 1141; Ewenny Priory
Ewenny Priory
Ewenny Priory, in Ewenny in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales, was a monastery of the Benedictine order, founded in the 12th century.The building was unusual in having military-style defences. Following the Dissolution of the Monasteries, the priory, like many of its kind, was converted into a private...

 is 2 miles from Ogmore Castle. When Thomas' heiress married into the Chaworth family of Kidwelly
Kidwelly
Kidwelly is a town in Carmarthenshire, west Wales, approximately north-west of the main town of Llanelli.It lies on the River Gwendraeth Fach above Carmarthen Bay. The town is twinned with French village St Jacut de la Mer.-History:...

, the lands passed in 1298 to the first Duke of Lancaster
Henry of Grosmont, 1st Duke of Lancaster
Henry of Grosmont, 1st Duke of Lancaster, 4th Earl of Leicester and Lancaster, KG , also Earl of Derby, was a member of the English nobility in the 14th century, and a prominent English diplomat, politician, and soldier...

.

Architecture

The earthworks were steeply banked and oval in shape, enclosing an area of 164 feet (50 m) in length by 115 feet (35.1 m) in width. The inner ward was flat and constructed of timber structures. After completion of the ringwork
Ringwork
A ringwork is a form of fortified defensive structure, usually circular or oval in shape. Ringworks are essentially motte-and-bailey castles minus the motte...

, the building material was stone. The windows were round-headed with Sutton stone ashlar
Ashlar
Ashlar is prepared stone work of any type of stone. Masonry using such stones laid in parallel courses is known as ashlar masonry, whereas masonry using irregularly shaped stones is known as rubble masonry. Ashlar blocks are rectangular cuboid blocks that are masonry sculpted to have square edges...

. The first-floor great hall had an ornate fireplace.

William's son Maurice is credited with building the oblong keep
Keep
A keep is a type of fortified tower built within castles during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars have debated the scope of the word keep, but usually consider it to refer to large towers in castles that were fortified residences, used as a refuge of last resort should the rest of the...

; it is perhaps the oldest Norman keep in Glamorgan. Situated north of the main gateway, the keep was the first masonry building and was probably built in the 1120s. It is both the castle's tallest surviving building, and one of the oldest buildings in South Wales. Though only three of the original walls survive, their structure is characterized by irregularly shaped field stones, glacial pebbles, Lias
Lias Group
The Lias Group or Lias is a lithostratigraphic unit found in a large area of western Europe, including the British Isles, the North Sea, the low countries and the north of Germany...

 limestone
Limestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....

 slabs, and brown mortar. Thomas de Londres replaced a timber palisade
Palisade
A palisade is a steel or wooden fence or wall of variable height, usually used as a defensive structure.- Typical construction :Typical construction consisted of small or mid sized tree trunks aligned vertically, with no spacing in between. The trunks were sharpened or pointed at the top, and were...

 with a stone wall in around 1200.

In the early 13th century, a second storey was added that housed private apartments. Garderobe
Garderobe
The term garderobe describes a place where clothes and other items are stored, and also a medieval toilet. In European public places, a garderobe denotes the cloakroom, wardrobe, alcove or an armoire. In Danish, Dutch, German and Spanish garderobe can mean a cloakroom. In Latvian it means checkroom...

s were featured on two levels and a latrine
Latrine
A latrine is a communal facility containing one or more commonly many toilets which may be simple pit toilets or in the case of the United States Armed Forces any toilet including modern flush toilets...

 tower was part of the exterior. A well-preserved lime kiln was built over an indeterminate 13th-century structure. Subsequently, a courthouse dating to the 14th century and rebuilt in the mid-15th century, was probably the third building to occupy the same spot. The building was rectangular in shape with a simple doorway and was flanked by two chambers. Having sustained damage during Owain Glyndŵr
Owain Glyndwr
Owain Glyndŵr , or Owain Glyn Dŵr, anglicised by William Shakespeare as Owen Glendower , was a Welsh ruler and the last native Welshman to hold the title Prince of Wales...

's revolt, a new courthouse, situated in the castle's outer bailey
Motte-and-bailey
A motte-and-bailey is a form of castle, with a wooden or stone keep situated on a raised earthwork called a motte, accompanied by an enclosed courtyard, or bailey, surrounded by a protective ditch and palisade...

, was built in 1454 and was in use until at least 1631.

The present-day castle remains consist of the keep and some outer walls.

Grounds

A deep, rock-cut ditch surrounded the castle grounds, which were dry except when the River Ewenny flooded the area during high tide. While the ditch that enclosed the castle's inner bailey filled at high tide, the flow was regulated by an embedded stone wall that blocked rising waters so that the interior of the castle did not flood.

Looking towards the sea from the castle ruins, the view includes sandhill
Sandhill
A sandhill is a type of ecological community or xeric wildfire-maintained ecosystem. It is not the same as a sand dune. It features very short fire return intervals, one to five years. Without fire, sandhills undergo ecological succession and become more oak dominated.Entisols are the typical...

s that proceed up the coast nearly as far as the town of Briton Ferry
Briton Ferry
Briton Ferry is a town and community in the county borough of Neath Port Talbot, Wales. The town encompasses the electoral wards of Briton Ferry East and Briton Ferry West....

. Opposite from Ogmore Castle is Merthyr Mawr
Merthyr Mawr
Merthyr Mawr is a village about 2½ miles from the centre of Bridgend in the county borough of Bridgend, Wales.- Buildings and landmarks of note :...

, where there are two sculptured crosses; the village can be reached by a footpath from the castle.

Also near the castle are a popular set of stepping stones that cross the river. A short distance to the southeast are several shallows filled with water that are said to have sunk spontaneously. One of them is circular, measuring approximately 7 feet (2.1 m) in diameter.

Folk tales

The ghost Y Ladi Wen ("the White Lady") purportedly guarded the castle's treasure and Lady Wen's revenge was said to fall on the person who died prior to disclosing hidden treasure.

External links

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